Carolina is the number one academic value in U.S. public higher education, says Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. For years, the magazine said, “UNC-Chapel Hill has been a leader for academic excellence, low cost and generous financial aid – exactly the criteria by which we define value.”

The journal Science named a UNC-led HIV prevention study the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. Professor Myron Cohen led the study, which has “galvanized efforts to end the world’s AIDS epidemic in a way that would have been inconceivable even a year ago.”

President Obama invited Chancellor Holden Thorp to a roundtable of a dozen university and college presidents and other higher education leaders at the White House in December to discuss affordability and productivity in higher education.

Look back at some of Carolina’s special occasions and everyday life in this “year in pictures” video. Whether celebrating the beginning of another semester or studying on Polk Place, students experienced plenty of special moments during 2011.

Brooklyn Young never gave up on her dream of a four-year university degree. She overcame the death of her mother at age 16 and homelessness. A UNC degree became possible through the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program.

Can the South adapt to a globalizing marketplace? That was among questions addressed by educators, business leaders and policymakers at a forum tied to a new report on building a globally competitive South from the UNC Global Research Institute.

Carolina’s top-seeded men’s soccer team defeated UNC-Charlotte 1-0 to win the NCAA College Cup championship game on Dec. 11. Ben Speas scored from 25 yards out in the 64th minute. The NCAA College Cup appearance was the fourth straight for the Tar Heels and sixth in school history.

People on Carolina’s bustling campus have been walking over history – literally – for 200 years. With the discovery of china plate pieces dating to the early 1800s, UNC researchers believe they have discovered the remnants of a private residence cellar.

FYI Carolina Online is for alumni, parents of current students and friends of the University. Through this free service, the Office of University Relations shares information about people, events and issues at Carolina. To ask questions or share comments, e-mail FYICarolina@unc.edu, telephone, (919) 962-8593 or write, Office of University Communications, 210 Pittsboro St., Chapel Hill, NC 27599-6210.